A hybrid sheet molding compound material is provided that includes at least one hybrid assembled roving comprising a plurality of reinforcement fiber strands (12) and a plurality of carbon fibers (14) comingled with the reinforcement fibers (12). The carbon fibers (14) are coated with a compatibilizer. The hybrid sheet molding compound material further includes a polymer resin material.

A hybrid reinforcement material (18) is disclosed that includes a plurality of reinforcement fibers (12) and a plurality of carbon fibers (14) comingled with the reinforcement fibers (12). The reinforcement fibers (12) are selected from natural fibers, organic fibers, and inorganic fibers and form a single hybrid assembled roving with the carbon fibers (14). The carbon fibers (14) are post-coated with a compatibilizer. The hybrid assembled roving (18) may be formed using a hybrid of glass and carbon fibers.

Aqueous binder compositions with reduced rates of salt precipitation are described. The compositions may include a carbohydrate and a sequestrant for sequestering one or more multivalent ions (e.g., Ca.sup.2+, Mg.sup.2+, Ba.sup.2+, Al.sup.3+, Fe.sup.2+, Fe.sup.3+, etc.). The sequestrant reduces a precipitation rate for the multivalent ions from the aqueous binder composition. Methods of reducing salt precipitation from a binder composition are also described. The methods may include the steps of providing an aqueous binder solution having one or more carbohydrates. They may also include adding a sequestrant for one or more multivalent ions to the aqueous binder solution. The sequestrant reduces a precipitation rate for the multivalent ions from the binder composition.

An apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber including: a drawing portion; a coating portion; and a curing portion, wherein: a direction changer which changes a direction of the bare optical fiber is disposed in any position from the drawing portion to the coating portion; the direction changer includes a guide groove which guides the bare optical fiber; a blowout port of a fluid which floats the bare optical fiber wired along the guide groove is formed along the guide groove in the guide groove; and in the blowout port, the Reynolds number in an inlet wire portion of the bare optical fiber to the guide groove and an outlet wire portion from the guide groove is greater than the Reynolds number in an intermediate portion between the inlet wire portion and the outlet wire portion.

Disclosed herein is a coating composition comprising a silsesquioxane component having one or more reactive functional groups that render it curable using ultraviolet radiation; where the one or more reactive functional groups are selected from the group consisting of an acrylate, a vinyl ether, or an epoxy; and optionally, a co-reactive non-silsesquioxane monomer and/or an oligomer having one or more reactive functional groups that are curable using ultraviolet radiation and are selected from the group consisting of free radically curable acrylates, cationically curable epoxies, and cationically curable vinyl ethers; where the coating composition is disposed and cured on an optical article; where the optical article is at least one of an optical fiber or an optical planar waveguide; and where the average functionality of the composition is greater than one.

The present disclosure is directed to a method of making an optical fiber with improved bend performance, the optical fiber having a core and at least one cladding layer, and a chlorine content in the in the last layer of the at least one cladding layer that is greater than 500 ppm by weight. The fiber is prepared using a mixture of a carrier gas, a gaseous chlorine source material and a gaseous reducing agent during the sintering of the last or outermost layer of the at least one cladding layer. The inclusion of the reducing gas into a mixture of the carrier gas and gaseous chlorine material reduces oxygen-rich defects that results in at least a 20% reduction in TTP during hydrogen aging testing.

A device for coating a fiber includes a fiber receiving arrangement and a coating arrangement which includes an application unit which wets the fiber with a coating agent, and a curing unit arranged downstream of the application unit which optically cures the coating agent. The curing unit includes a lamp which emits at least one light beam which is aimed directly or indirectly at a surface of the fiber. A main radiation direction of the lamp includes a beam angle between the main radiation direction and a longitudinal direction of the fiber of less than 40. The fiber receiving arrangement and the application unit are movable relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the fiber via a translational motion arrangement so that a wetting process is implemented substantially along an entire length of the fiber.

A multicore optical fiber with a reference section having a material defining a marked multicore glass optical fiber. The multicore fibers can be in groupings, for example, the groupings can be in the form of one of an optical fiber ribbon covered by a matrix, and a tight buffered cable. Fiber optic connectors can be assembled to the multicore optical fiber at either or both ends, and the colored portion can be associated with the optical fiber connector aligning the optical core elements with the optical connectors. The assembly can have at least one transceiver device with a transmit port and a receive port defining a two-way communication channel. Further aspects describe methods of manufacturing multicore fibers including application of curable coatings and reference sections.

An optical fiber comprises a glass fiber, and a coating resin layer with which the glass fiber is covered, the coating resin layer has a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers includes a first layer being in contact with the glass fiber, and a longest diameter at 40 C. of a void formed in the first layer is 100% or more and 300% or less of a longest diameter at 23 C. thereof, or a longest diameter at 40 C. of a void formed in the first layer is 100% or more and 600% or less of a longest diameter at 23 C. thereof, and a Young's modulus of the first layer is 0.3 MPa or less.

A process for correcting defects in a primary coating on a glass optical fiber involves providing an optical fiber configured for propagation of an optical signal, coating the optical fiber with a composition comprising a thermoplastic polyurethane and at least one acrylate monomer, curing the composition to form a relatively soft primary coating covering an outer surface of the optical fiber, the primary coating being a thermoplastic product of the polyurethane and the at least one acrylate monomer, coating the optical fiber with at least one relatively harder secondary coating layer disposed over the primary coating, heating the coated fiber to a temperature above the melting temperature of the thermoplastic product to cause the primary coating to flow and correct defects, and cooling the coated fiber to a temperature below the melting temperature of the thermoplastic product to provide a substantially defect free primary coating.